Attkisson Amended Complaint Names Rod Rosenstein and Alleged DOJ-Linked Informant Ryan White as Computer-Intrusion Defendants
In amended filings between 2017 and 2020, Sharyl Attkisson expanded her federal surveillance lawsuit to name former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Shaun Bridges (a former Secret Service agent later convicted in the Silk Road case), and cited sworn declarations from Ryan White, a former DOJ-linked informant, describing government-directed monitoring of her communications. Litigation continued in Maryland federal and state courts.
After her initial federal suit against then-Attorney General Eric Holder was dismissed on FTCA jurisdictional grounds in 2017, Attkisson refiled and amended her claims. Amended complaints named additional defendants including former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (who had been U.S. Attorney for Maryland during the alleged intrusion period) and Shaun Bridges, the former Secret Service agent convicted in the Silk Road corruption case. Ryan White, described in filings as a longtime confidential informant for DOJ and DEA, submitted sworn declarations asserting he had personal knowledge of federal officials directing surveillance of Attkisson and other journalists. Rosenstein and other defendants denied the allegations. The case has been the subject of multiple Fourth Circuit rulings and remains in active litigation, with Attkisson representing herself pro se after her prior counsel withdrew.